PORTSMOUTH — Deputy Chief of Police Corey MacDonad says, "At this time we are confident that the vehicle and the child that was the source of the tip have nothing to do with the Colorado case. Portsmouth Police have located the owners and have searched the vehicle and it has been released."

Earlier this afternoon, Police said they are continuing to investigate whether a vehicle recovered from the rear of the local Walmart on Lafayette Road was related to a case of a missing 10-year-old girl from Colorado, who was believed to have been abducted from her hometown earlier this month.

The Associated Press reports local authorities are investigating the incident as a child abduction. Ridgeway's mother says she last saw Jessica when she left home to walk to school.

Sgt. David Keaveny told Foster's although it is likely the blue Buick station wagon they towed to the Portsmouth police station Thursday morning, with Colorado plates, is unrelated to the Ridgeway case, authorities continue to collaborate on the joint investigation.

“At this point, there appears to be no specific connection with the Colorado case,” Keaveny said, adding the Westminster Police Department has received “upwards of a thousand tips” from the general public.

“The one tip they weren't able to corroborate is a blue station wagon may have been involved,” he said. “…We're still trying to flesh out a couple more things, just to be 100 percent sure that we're heading in the right direction.”

Keaveny said police towed the vehicle as evidence after receiving notice from police in Dexter, Maine, who had received a tip from a concerned citizen. The vehicle was sought by federal authorities after the caller from Dexter reporting saw the vehicle near a local convenience store with a young girl inside. Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Dubois told reporters outside Portsmouth City Hall this afternoon they have were unable to track down the people inside the vehicle.

Keaveny added in an interview with Foster's, “It makes it more complicated. It appears (the Buick) had no reason to be there.”

He noted Portsmouth police have been receiving all information on the Ridgeway case from the Westminster Police Department, as well as the FBI.

“We talked to all the agencies and they're saying they don't believe there's a connection,” he said earlier today. “It's not our investigation ... (but) we're working to help and assist those other agencies.”

The Westminster, Colo. police department declined to comment on the case, or the discovery of the abandoned vehicle, and asked those interested to follow them on Facebook and on Twitter (@westminsterpd) for further updates.

Anyone with information related to the Ridgeway case may call the Westminster Police Department tip line at 303-658-4336.